Faces of The Fellowship: Liza
The Fellowship | September 15, 2021
Liza remembers keeping the Jewish traditions in her family when she was a child. “My brightest childhood memories are all about the Jewish holidays. My mother made a tallit (prayer shawl) for my father.”
Today, after making aliyah (immigrating to Israel) from Ukraine, she tells us how important it is for her to be able to celebrate the High Holy Days in the Holy Land.
Still, celebrating the High Holy Days with dignity is difficult for Liza who leads a quiet and lonely life and struggles with numerous diseases, including diabetes. Liza is almost unable to walk or go outside on her own after having had surgeries on her both legs. She will soon be undergoing eye surgery. But her financial hardship causes her to worry about paying for a cab on her way to the surgery.
Yet even when Liza finds herself in seemingly hopeless situations, she remembers how God watches over her. When this precious Jewish woman was just a child during World War II in Kharkov, Ukraine, her family fled to Donetsk. Soon the Nazis occupied the city, and they stayed for a while under the occupation. “They tried to kill us several times,” she says. But then a miracle happened. “To this day, my sister keeps a thick blanket full of bullet holes. This blanket stopped the bullets intended for me.”
Today, Liza finds herself again in a desperate situation. She has little money to celebrate the upcoming High Holy Days and is in poor health. But just like during the war years, Liza has found hope and blessings from God… this time through The Fellowship and our supporters around the world. Liza is dependent on her homecare worker’s assistance and The Fellowship’s care.
This Rosh Hashanah, not only have Fellowship volunteers delivered her a box of fresh, nutritious food so she can survive and stay nourished, but we have given her some comfort and happiness this Jewish New Year. “Celebrating the High Holy Days is one of my last remaining joys and it reminds me of my childhood,” she says. We are so happy to bring her a little joy this sacred season.